The First Step
by Retr0fan
Summary: Narushima Raian, a cocky, young, hot-headed kid who loves picking fights with bullies and thugs. But just punching a bunch of street punks is not going to help him answer the one simple question he has aked his whole life: "what does it mean to be strong?" Now he may get the chance to find his answer, as a boxer! This is the first step!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Takamura Mamoru, an up and coming boxer fighting in the middleweight division of the Japanese Boxing Commission, was currently doing his road work. Jogging down the stone path alongside the river on his usual route, periodically he would stop and start shadow-boxing.

He continued running down the path and was coming up on a bridge leading across the river where he noticed a group of four people underneath. He stopped running while he continued looking on as he noticed from their uniforms that they were most likely high school boys. Three taller boys, punks and bullies judging from their way of crowding the fourth guy and from their wannabe punk haircuts and tall stature.

Takamura walked down the slope of the bridge to get a better look. 'Why the hell am I getting involved? Ah screw it if I don't do something the kid's gonna get hurt' he thought.

"You think you're some tough guy huh?" said one of the bullies, "You call me and my boys a bunch pricks in front of our girls and think we would just let it slide?!"

"Well it didn't look like they were having a very good time with you… so yeah. I think I'm allowed to call 'em as I see 'em" answered the lone teenager. This led Takamura to stop dead in his tracks and continue observing.

The boy stood tall and confident against the gang of three and had messy, dark-brown hair with bangs over his forehead and was neck-length in the back, he had a tanned complexion and looked to be pretty fit for his age.

"So, what's it gonna be three against one?" he asked sarcastically. This ticked off the trio of thugs before the leader with a pompadour snapped back, "You fuckin' got that right. I'm gonna enjoy wiping your blood off the bottom of my shoe after this."

The three thugs spread out to try and intimidate the lone teenager. Takamura was about to step in but stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw next.

The teenager took his hands out of his pockets and without any indication, threw a right punch into the leader's midsection and followed up with a left uppercut that sent the leader falling back.

He pivoted to the right and dodged a punch by the thug on the right before landing a left hook to his face and then a right body blow and another left hook.

Not noticing the third thug, he grabbed the kid in a head lock while he tried to struggle and break free. The leader got up off the ground and ran over to beat on the kid. He threw a right punch, which the kid evaded by slipping his head to the right. This resulted in the thug holding him getting hit in the face and the kid jammed his left elbow into his side. The thug's grip loosened, the kid turned a full 180 and threw a left uppercut into the thug's chin and knocked him away with a right.

The kid then turned back to the leader and the two charged forward and he threw out a right.

Takamura had been watching the whole fight intently, never taking his eyes off it for even a second. But what he saw next impressed even him.

The kid had ducked and weaved under the leader's right punch and circled around to his right. He cocked his left fist back. His waist twisted, and his left fist shot forward. It landed. And the thug leader was sent flying backwards, the force of the punch knocking him right off his feet and skidding into the dirt.

Takamura had seen it all. He saw how this one kid took out a trio of taller, stronger street punks and beat them all by himself. But what he had noticed the most, was the completely high-level left cross this kid threw in a simple street brawl.

Takamura began to get closer and approach the group. The kid turned and noticed him walking before Takamura spoke up. "Well… that was a pretty show kid. Took care of these guys like they were nothing."

"Yeah? And what's it to you?" he spat back, "You wanna fight too?"

Takamura put on a serious expression before answering, "If you think you got the guts," he curled his finger, "then bring it in."

The kid widened his stance and raised his fists, his right at the waist and his left just above the hip.

He stepped forward and threw out his left. Takamura, with his hands still in his pockets, simply sidestepped to the left and sway to right. The kid was starting to get irritated, gritting his teeth as he threw out more wild swings and hooks as Takamura dodged them all.

His rage at full boil now, the teenager threw the same punch he used before. Twisting his waist and launching his left.

Takamura then raised his right open palm and caught the fist.

The kid's eyes were wide in disbelief, but quickly turned to shock as Takamura threw out his left but stopped only one centimeter from the boy's face.

They remained frozen for a time before Takamura retracted his fist and let go of the boy's hand. Both men lowered their guard.

Takamura raised his right hand and examined it. 'My hand is still stinging from that punch… Just what the hell kind of power does this kid have?' he thought.

"Hey kid," said Takamura, "I could tell from the way you handled these dumbasses here," he gestured to the other unconscious thugs, "that this isn't your first fight."

The teenager wondered where this random stranger was going with this.

"And that punch you threw just now was pretty good. But…" he raised an eyebrow, "your technique was all over the place. Those punches you were swingin' around were too easy to read."

"Seemed to work just fine against these guys."

"Yeah but they were amateurs, not some real high-class fighters like me" said Takamura while pointing a thumb towards himself while putting on a smug smile. "And I think I can show you some real good punches."

The kid raised an eyebrow at the stranger's remark but continued listening, clearly intrigued.

"Follow me" said Takamura as he walked past the teenager and out from under the bridge.

They walked a few meters towards a tree growing by the river bank. Takamura walked towards the trunk before kicking it and causing the leaves to fall. Takamura put up a guard and loosened his fists.

With blinding speed, he shot out his left and followed up with his right in a rapid succession. The teen's eyes went wide at the speed of his fists and continued watching until he stopped.

Takamura stepped away and turned towards the boy before raising his hands up, opening them up to reveal a bunch of leaves falling out of his grasp.

"How's that? You wanna learn how to throw punches like that?"

The teenager continued looking at the leaves before snapping back, "Who the hell would wanna learn something like that?"

Takamura dropped the leaves and looked back at the kid, "Well if you think you could do better than by all means,"

The teenager stepped forward and kicked the tree, leaves came falling and the kid got into his stance. He threw out his right fist and caught a leaf but failed to catch a second. He tried again but failed. He began to get angry but failed after multiple tries.

Takamura stood by and watched the kid thinking, 'Why is trying to catch them with his right? Wait… right…' Takamura took a better look at the kid's stance before coming to a realization, 'right foot forward, left foot back… right to jab and holding his left behind… wait a minute…'

"Hey kid," piped up Takamura, "are you right handed or left handed?"

The teen stopped and looked over before answering, "I'm left handed."

'I knew it! This kid is a southpaw!' realized Takamura.

The teenager tried again and failed once more before shouting in frustration, "RAAAHH! Why the hell can't I catch these fucking leaves?!"

"Tell ya what, you keep practicing that jab and let's meet back here in week."

The teen gave a surprised chuckle before responding, "A week? Isn't that too much time?"

"If you think you can do it in less than go ahead, after all I could do it in less than a week" said Takamura before turning to get back to his roadwork.

"By the way," Takamura turned back, "I never did catch your name."

The kid didn't speak for a moment before giving his name, "Narushima… Narushima Raian."

"Well Raian, keep practicing that jab and we'll meet back in a week" and Takamura went back to running.

Raian looked towards the man running down the road before turning back to the tree.

* * *

Raian remained at the tree for the next hour before finally deciding to give it a rest for the day and to try again tomorrow. As he had work right now.

Raian ran down the road before arriving at an open auto repair garage.

Raian walked inside through the garage door and walked past a row of cars being repaired by mechanics. Raian made his way down a hall and walked through a door into room with lockers. Raian walked up to one and undid the combination lock and began to change into a boiler suit and walked out while putting on a red baseball cap.

"Well it's about time you showed up" spoke a slightly chubby man with gray hair and mustache and was covered in splotches of motor oil.

"Ah get off my back boss, it's not like I'm late I'm five minutes early for my shift today" answered Raian.

"Uh huh… so who were unlucky dumbasses that ended up eating your fist today?" asked Raian's boss.

"Same guys different day… So, what's the load for the week?"

The mustached man looked at his clipboard before turning back to Raian, "Got a '86 Mitsubishi that needs it's front and rear axles changed. Then you got to help Tojo repair the chassis in a '75 Chevy later."

Raian adjusted his hat before getting right to work. For the rest of the afternoon until nightfall, Raian continued to work in the garage before finally clocking off. He grabbed a train and rode the rest of the way before arriving home in Machida, Tokyo.

Raian walked into his apartment and locked the door.

"Welcome home Raian" said a woman's voice.

Raian turned and was met by a middle-aged woman with brown hair, "Hey Mom" said Raian before giving his mother a hug. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah it was alrite."

"And how was work?"

"Not too bad. Think I might be getting used to this" answered Raian.

"As long as your doing your best. Any way dinner's ready!" announced Raian's mother.

The two sat down and ate dinner where Raian later showered and went to bed.

Throughout the early part of the night, Raian's mind went back to the day's afternoon. Back to the man who told him to catch the leaves.

Raian got up from his bed and got into a fighting stance. He threw out a right but wondered, 'what am I doing wrong? What did he do with his fists that made them go that fast?'

Raian continued to remember the way Takamura threw out his fists but realized that he loosened his hands before throwing out his punches. "Lightly…"

Raian loosened his fists and threw out a right. The punch came out much faster than before, "I get it… keep your fists light then tighten them once you punch."

Raian continued for the rest of the night. Throwing out more right jabs until it has muscle memory.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Over the next week Raian had continued to practice his jabs. Everyday after school he would go by the river to the same tree and kick the trunk to make the leaves fall and once more attempt to catch them. He remembered to keep his fists loose before punching and had managed to go from one leaf to catching five.

He would continue at that pace for an hour before he had to leave for work, and everyday at school he would carry a leaf around and let it drop from his grasp before snapping his fist shut.

Then one day while walking to school he passed by a newsstand and stopped dead in his tracks. Raian backpedaled towards the magazines and picked one up that caught his attention.

It was a boxing magazine. And on it's cover was the same man he met by the river and had told him to practice catching the leaves. "Takamura… Mamoru… so he's a boxer?"

Raian payed for the magazine and continued to read all through school. He was intrigued by the article on Takamura and was even more drawn to the stories of boxers in general.

Over the next few days, Raian had continued to do more reading on boxing and had even bought some VHS tapes of famous boxing matches and was currently watching one now in his room. "Woah he got knocked out!" in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think: 'Man… all these guys look so tough and strong… every time they win, they smile like their on top of the world…' Raian looked down at his right hand and clenched his fist, going deeper in thought, 'I wonder what it feels like… what does it mean?... what does it mean… to be strong?'

* * *

A week had gone by and Takamura was doing his road work for the day. Running along the same path by the river as he always did.

Only today he noticed a person standing on the side of the road, he continued running forward and as he got closer, he noticed it was the same kid from a week ago, 'Raian' was it?

"Yo Takamura" he called out while waving his hand.

Takamura stopped before the teenager, "Hey been a while… 'Raian' right?"

"Yeah that's me" he answered. "And hey, how'd you know my name?" question the older man.

Raian dug into his backpack and pulled out the same boxing magazine and handed it to Takamura. He took and realized, "oh I see. So, you read about me huh?"

"Sure did. And it's been a week." Takamura was slightly confused at this statement, but Raian pointed towards the tree down by the river and he realized what he meant. "Oh right…"

Both men walked towards the tree before Takamura spoke, 'Alright Raian, try to catch ten leaves using a jab."

Raian nodded his head and kicked the tree, causing leaves to fall as he got into a fighting stance, he raised both arms near his face and Takamurea continued observing. 'His stance as gotten better than before…' he thought.

Then Raian loosened his fists. This caught Takamura's attention as he watched the teenager shoot his right fist out. Again, and again Raian jabbed his right out and suddenly stopped as the last of the leaves finally fell.

Raian dropped his guard and walked over to Takamura and held up his right fist, then opened as a total of ten leaves fell out of his palm. "Good enough for ya?"

Takamura stood there shocked, never imagining that this random street punk could pull off something so textbook so flawlessly. "Yeah, good job. Those were some pretty good jabs."

"So, what's next?" asked Raian. Takamura looked confused, "What do ya mean?"

"Well I got the jab down, and you said that when I did you were gonna teach me some more."

"You know enough. Just keep practicing that jab and you'll be fine." Answered Takamura before he turned and got back to his roadwork.

Raian dashed after him and grabbed the back of his sweatshirt to stop him before he could get too far. "HEY, you said you would teach, and just knowing to jab isn't enough." He turned Takamura around to look at him dead on, "I wanna be a boxer! So, teach me to box!"

Takamura stood dumbfounded before this kid until he let out an angry snarl and grabbed Raian by his collar and pulled him up till they were face-to-face. "You little bastard! You know how to throw one little punch and suddenly you think you can be a boxer! What gives you the right? What makes you think you can make a spur of the moment decision like that?!"

"IT'S NOT A SPUR OF THE MOMENT DECISION!"

Takamura let go of Raian's shirt and he looked at the teenager. "Listen… I know it seems like it but believe me when I say I've given this some real hard thought. Ever since I could remember all I've ever done was hit guys who pissed me off. But seeing you and other boxers fight made me realize that you do it for something much bigger than that. And I wanna be a part of that!"

Raian hung his head and Takamura finally responded, "Kid… why would you wanna do this? You don't sound like an idiot, so why would you wanna pick the life of a fighter when you don't have to?"

Raian did not response immediately, only giving a feint answer in a low voice, "What does it mean…"

"Huh?" responded Takamura.

"What does it mean… to be strong?" tears started to run down his cheeks, "How does it feel?"

Takamura only stood there examining the boy, not saying a single word. He stepped forward and put his hand on Raian's shoulder before saying, "Follow me."

Takamura began to walk in the opposite direction and Raian quickly wiped his tears before following him.

* * *

Takamura and Raian both arrived at a building with a sign reading 'Kamogawa Boxing Gym.' Takamura opened the door and Raian saw the gym packed with men all exercising. Some doing sit ups, another jumping rope, hitting a punching bag and two other's fighting wearing headgear inside a boxing ring.

"Hey kid!" Raian snapped out his curiousity and saw Takamura standing by a pounching bag and was gesturing him to come over. Raian walked over and Takamura spoke, "Alright you managed to do some pretty good jabs but you wanna learn more. And that's exactly what were gonna do."

Raian smiled at this and put on a determined look, "Alright! So, what's first." Takamura patted the punching bag and explained, "I want you hit this heavy bag as hard as you can using your dominant hand."

"Just take your power and throw it out, only this time twist your hips into the punch." Takamura explained and Raian did as was told. He assumed a fighting stance Raian threw out his left, twisting his hips and his left fist struck the punching bag. The bag pent like a chevron at the power of the blow before snapping taught on its chain.

"Like that" asked Raian while pulling his fist back. A streak of red liquid hit Takamura's cheek and he wiped it off and looked at it. Abruptly walking up and grabbing Raian's left hand, he saw the skin on his knuckles was completely scraped off. Blood was weeping through the exposed skin and it donned on Takamura.

"Wait here, I'm gonna get somethings to patch you up." He walked away while he thought, 'What the hell was up with punch? That's some power he's got. He actually has the qualities of a hard puncher!'

Takamura returned shortly afterward and wrapped up Raian's hand. "Just wait here, I gotta go see someone."

Takamura walked away and left Raian as he talked with the other gym members.

* * *

Kamogawa Genji was the owner and head coach of the gym. He was currently looking over a sheet of papers when Takamura opened the door to his office, "Hey old man!" Kamogawa looked up, "What the hell are you doing here, didn't I tell you to go do your roadwork."

"You gotta come out here and see this. You remember that kid I've been talling you about? Well I just saw him working the heavy bag and I got a good feeling about him." Kamogawa got up from his chair and walked over to the door and looked out. His eyes landed on Raian and he examined him for a second.

"So that's the kid huh? He doesn't look like much, in fact he just seems like any young punk." Said Kamogawa.

"Well he's not just any punk. He's got some real talent, plus one other thing…" Kamogawa rose his eyebrow at this. "What is it?"

"He's a southpaw."

Kamogawa turned completely around. "Hell no!" he walked back to his chair and plopped down in frustration, "I don't want to get involved with southpaws! Everything they do is backwards."

"AW COME ON old man just give him a chance. I saw it myself, just let him show you what he's got." argued Takamura.

Kamogawa eyed Takamura warily before finally letting out a puff of resignation. "Fine. Get him some gear and have him spar with Miyata."

Takamura smiled at this and quickly ran out of the office and dragged Raian into the back room and explained what was to happen.

"Huh, sparring?" Raian asked.

"That's right your gonna show what you've got. Your gonna be sparring with one of our top boxers here. Now put these on." Takamura handed Raian a pair of 10 oz gloves and held up a sparring helmet.

Takamura and Raian were later standing beside the boxing ring, where there was already a person inside, a young teenager about Raian's age.

"That's Miyata Ichirō" said Takamura, "he's the same age as you and he's been training to become a boxer since he was a little kid. The only reason he's not a pro yet is because of his age. You have to be seventeen to get a professional boxing license, and he's got plenty of experience until then. So, for now he's just waiting."

Miyata finished taping up his gloves and looked over at the duo and glanced at Raian, giving a disinterested huff.

Raian's response was to furrow his brow at this guy's clear arrogance and disregard for him. Takamura handed Raian the head gear but Raian pushed it away, "No… let's do this without the head gear" he said and climbed into the ring.

Both Raian and Miyata went to their respective corners. Raian had Takamura in his corner and Miyata had his father in his. "He isn't wearing headgear. That's reckless for someone who has no experience" said Miyata's father.

Miyata only gave a hmph in response as he put in his mouthpiece, "Well that was his choice. Besides you said it, he's got no experience. I'll make him go down before the end of the first round" said Miyata.

Raian was currently having his gloves tape dup by Takamura and took a mouthpiece into his teeth, "Alright this is gonna be a three-round spar. Each one lasts for five minutes. If you get knocked down you have ten seconds to get back up, if you stay past ten seconds you you lose, simple as that."

"Don't worry. Whatever happens, happens. I'm not gonna cry if I lose, but that doesn't mean I won't try" responded Raian.

Kamogawa came out before the start of the spar and announced, "All right this is gonna a standard four round spar. If you get knocked down, you got until the count of ten to get back up. You go down twice you lose. Ready?"

Miyata began to hop and get into tempo as he put up his guard, a standard orthodox stance with his left foot forward and his right foot back. Raian widened his stance with his right foot forward and his left foot back in a semi-crouch and put his arms just above his waist as he faced Miyata more directly.

The bell rang as Raian ran towards Miyata and threw out two right and left hooks. Miyata easily swayed and sidestepped him as he threw out left jab, nailing Raian square in the face. His head snapped back but he quickly recovered and went on the offensive again.

He threw out another right hook, but Miyata dodged to the left and countered with a left hook counter.

The impact rang out as Raian's head twisted sideways. 'I knew it. This wasn't even a challenge, he's just a brawler with no skill' thought Miyata.

"Well that's it" said Kamogawa as he prepared to start the count.

Everyone watching were getting ready to leave until what happened next stunned everyone. Raian caught himself on his left foot and righted himself before throwing out a left straight.

Miyata dodged by a hair and backstepped away from Raian. Miyata hanged back and thought, 'How is he still conscious? My left counter should have knocked him out cold.' Miyata watched as Raian assumed his stance again and saw blood dripping from his nose. Raian smiled and flicked his tongue out to lick the blood before saying, "Hey… I didn't hear no bell!"

"Raian don't try to swing at him!" shouted Takamura, "Just jab. Jab like you practiced."

Raian did as told and jabbed his right but Miyata easily stepped aside and dodged and weaved, avoiding them all and Miyata quickly went to step in.

'The next time he throws out a punch I'll get inside and nail him with my left again.' Miyata slid his left foot to step in and wound up his left for another left hook, only to be thrown off balance as his left foot bumped into something.

Miyata wobbled before catching himself but failed to notice Raian throw out a left hook. His left nailing Miyata on the side of his head, knocking him down to the canvas.

Everyone in attendance was shocked speechless. Never had Miyata been knocked down before. And this random, unskilled brawler had just done it.

"Raian! Hurry up and get over to a neutral corner!" shouted Takamura. 'I knocked him down. I really did it' thought Raian as he walked into the white corner of the ring.

Kamogawa was still shocked at what he saw, which meant he was late on the count but was snapped out of it by Takamura. Kamogawa quickly started the count and Miyata got up on the count of five.

The bell sounded a second later, signaling the end of the first round. Miyata and Raian returned to their corners and sat down in their stools. "Well you did better than I thought considering all those hard punches you took" Raian was huffing and panting his stool, "but you can't just go out there and just swing your fists out and hope you hit him. You gotta outthink him, so when the bell rings don't go after him just hang back and let him come to you."

Meanwhile Miyata was in his corner and his father was wiping sweat off his brow, "That down was pretty pathetic, thinking he could trip me and just get lucky" argued Miyata.

"I don't think he tripped you," said Miyata's father, "I noticed it when he took his stance. When an orthodox boxer tries to move forward but trips on their opponent's right foot, that could only mean that his opponent is a-"

"A southpaw!?" realized Miyata.

"That's right and this is very bad. This is your first time fighting a southpaw, which means you have no experience."

Miyata hung his head in realization, confused as to how to go about this. "It's like fighting a mirror reflection then. How do I beat someone that I've never fought before?"

"From what I can tell you, southpaws are vulnerable to right straights and other techniques coming from the right, but you need to keep your lead fought outside his get in."

The bell rang for the second round rang and both fighters got out of their corner. And this time, Miyata dashed forward and began to jab at Raian in quick succession. Miyata had Raian pushed back into the ropes he threw out more jabs.

Takamura shouted at Raian to put up his guard. Raian did and held both hands in front of his face to block. Miyata took advantage of this and nailed Raian with a left body blow.

Raian bent forward from the pain and nearly coughed up his mouthpiece. Miyata followed up his onslaught by maneuvering his left lead foot past Raian's right and reared his right fist back.

'It's over!' thought Miyata, only to stop dead inhis tracks and bent forward after Raian had nailed his left side with a right body blow.

Raian flipped the tables and went on the offensive, throwing out vicious right and left hooks, alternating between left and right body blows and pushed Miyata against the ropes.

Miyata slipped past a left straight from Raian and escaped the ropes.

Raian twisted around, twisting his hips as he threw out a left straight. Miyata was slow to responded. Everyone held their breaths as the massive left soared towards Miyata. But Miyata quickly ducked to the left.

He maneuvered his left foot outside of Raian's right, and nailed Raian with a Right straight counter.

The only sound heard was of Raian falling towards the canvas. Coach Kamogawa started the count. Everyone was shocked to see Raian not only still conscious but also getting ready to get back up.

Raian groaned from the pain but managed to get to one knee. He tried to pull himself back up but could not beat the count, and the result was there.

"Match over! The winner: Miyata Ichirō!" announced Kamogawa. Raian managaed to get back up but was bleeding heavily from his mouth and nose. Takamura got to his side and asked how he was doing.

"I'm fine I can walk" Raian looked around and realized, "so I lost huh?"

"Yeah you did. But that was great I don't know anyone else who could go up against Miyata and not have to be carried out with an ice pack" answered Takamura.

"Hey kid," Raian looked over and saw an old man walking over to him. "what's your name?"

"Narashima Raian" he answered.

"I'm Kamogawa Genji, and I'm the head coach here." Raian held out his left hand to shake but quickly pulled it back and held out his right, "A pleasure."

Kamogawa shook his hand but thought, 'His first instinct was to hold up his left, he really is a natural southpaw.' "How much do know about boxing kid?"

"Not much. This is my first time in a 'sparring' match."

"And how tall are you? How much do you weigh?"

"Like… 5' 7". I weigh about 124." Answered Raian.

"Well from here on out I'm gonna be your coach. So, starting tomorrow I want to see you here after school and were gonna start training."

Raian only widened his eyes at this statement as he watched Coach Kamogawa walk away. His mouth grew into a smile as the first step in his quest had finally come under way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Shiritsu Zōshirushi High School was bustling with students getting ready for the morning classes. Raian walked down the hallway, carrying his bag and wearing his school uniform. A group of girls stopped conversing with each other and fell silent, eyes widening as they stepped out of the way as Raian walked passed them. Many other students either stepped out of the way or kept looking as their fellow student walked down the hall.

And for good reason.

Raian's face was covered in bruises and cuts. His right cheek had a large red bruise on it while his right eyebrow had a white gauze and bandage over it. His left cheek had a cut under his eye and his bottom lip had a cut on the left side and his left hand had bandages covering his knuckles.

Raian paid the students no mind as he boredly walked into his classroom and sat at his desk. Many of his classmates stopped talking and looked at Raian's injuries. "Oh no looks like Narushima got into another fight again" whispered a student to another. "Dang must have been rough… those cuts look like they hurt" whispered another.

Raian overheard them but paid them no mind and just got his papers out and got ready for class.

* * *

Lunch break came along and Raian ate his sandwich. Behind him two male classmates were practicing wrestling moves they saw on tv in front of two girls. He wasn't a huge fan of wrestling but even he could tell that there "moves" were fake. These guys didn't know the first thing about real combat sports. While he got some literal firsthand experience just yesterday if his wound were anything to go by. And starting today he would officially start his training to become a boxer.

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips at the thought, 'Boy… even after making the decision it still catches by surprise,' he took another bite of his sandwich, 'who would have thought my life would have ended at this point…'

"Hey Raian" said a female student. Raian turned and saw Aikawa sitting at her desk beside him. "Just what happened that you got all those bruises. Did you get into a fight again?"

Raian swallowed his last bite before answering, "What makes you think I got into a fight?" asked Raian while feigning ignorance.

"Well your face is covered in bruises and I saw Umezawa and his friends earlier and they were pretty beat up. Did you guys get into another fight?"

"Hey, those guys came to me looking for trouble. Not my fault they bit off more than they could chew. Besides," he pointed at his face, "these are from a guy who actually knew how to fight."

* * *

Raian left school later that day and made his way to the Kamogawa Gym. He stepped through the sliding doors and met with a spectacled man sweeping the floor, Mr. Yagi if he remembered right.

Yagi looked up and greeted Raian. "Oh, welcome back. It's good to see you again Mr. Narushima. I'm Mr. Yagi, the general manager."

Raian greeted him with a smile, "Well I can't really start as a boxer if I miss my first day of training, right?"

"You got that right" said another man who walked up to the pair. Aoki Masaru was a boxer in the lightweight division, and he held out his hand to shake the new comer, "name's Aoki, you must be the new face the Big Guy brought in yesterday."

"Yeah that's me. Nice to meet, name's Raian."

"Well welcome to the Kamogawa Gym. We've been hearing a lot of things about you, especially the spar against Miyata over there." Aoki pointed to Miyata, who was currently working on the speed bag.

He stopped and turned his head to look behind him. Miyata's and Raian's eyes met and both glared challenging daggers at the other.

Raian was snapped out of his glare by another gym member walking up to him. "Yeah that was pretty something. Not anyone can go against Miyata and stay conscious after getting hit with one of his counterpunches" said Kimura Tatsuya. "Especially considering what's coming up."

"Huh? What's coming up?" asked Raian.

Yagi answered, "Oh right, you didn't know. Well apparently, the Chief and Miyata's father have set up a rematch between you and Miyata three months from now. And the Chief wants to get you into fighting shape so you have a better chance going against Miyata."

Raian liked the sound of that, smiling with confidence as he imagined the outcome to be with him as the winner.

"But it's not gonna happen if you keep standing around" said Kamogawa in question as he cut in, "so get changed and grab some gloves. Are first exercise is gonna be in the ring."

Raian nodded his head and walked into the backroom. He later walked out in gym clothes and was wrapping his hands with white tape. He later put on some gloves and climbed into the ring where he saw Coach Kamogawa waiting. "Alright I'm ready" said Raian.

Kamogawa stepped up to him and began to pat him down. Checking his biceps, shoulders, and thighs before standing up and facing a very confused Raian, "You have some good upper body muscles. And your lower body is decent, have you played any sports before?"

"Well, I played soccer back in elementary and middle school" answered Raian.

"Hmm. Well that's good, you already have decent leg muscles, so we'll keep working and build up your lower body. You gotta have legs of steel if you wanna keep from getting knocked on your ass, but we'll work on that later. Right now," Kamogawa pulled out a pair of boxing mitts, "we're gonna do some mitt punching, so get into your stance put your guard up."

"Yes sir" answered Raian. He put his left leg back and right leg forward and put up his guard, right arm in front of his stomach and his left arm in front of his chest.

"Alright first do a straight punch with your right." Raian punched the mitt with his right and quickly pulled back. "That was called a jab. It's a punch that's light and fast and should always be the first punch you throw out."

"Now punch with your left." Raian threw out his left and struck the mitt, causing a harder sound to ring. "Good. That was called a straight, and you throw with your dominant hand. Remember you can generate more power with left, but that also means it's slower. So use your right to set up your left and combine the two. Now give it try. Right-left!"

Raian jabbed with his right before following up with his left. "That was called one-two. You better remember it."

"Yes sir" answered Raian and got back into his stance.

Kamogawa raised his mitts, "Now one-two!" Raian struck right and then left. "Again!" one-two. "Again!" one-two. "Again!" one-two. Kamogawa and Raian continued like that for a few more minutes before ending.

"Alright you got the technique down. Now were gonna focus on power shots," explained Kamogawa, "these are techniques that are strong and powerful but leave you open for attack, which means you should use them when your opponent is already hit and are normally the finishing blow in a combination."

"I want you to throw a hook with your right hand, keep it short and rotate your lead foot sideways when you follow through. Ready?" asked Kamogawa.

"Yes sir" answered Raian. He got into his stance and the Coach raised his right mitt. Raian curved his right punch and had it bent at an angle while he twisted his right foot sideways and punched the mitt.

"That was way too obvious!" shouted Kamogawa. Raian looked puzzled as he wandered what he did wrong, "You need to keep your fist close to your body, it's a short-range punch and if you throw it too wide, you're just asking for a counter. Try again and this time, twist your hips instead of your shoulders. Go!"

Raian did as he was told and punched the mitt with right hook. "Good. Now put al three together. Do a one-two and finish with a hook." said Kamogawa.

Raian followed the Chief's orders and though a jab-cross-hook combo. Coach and student continued the drills for a good while before the Chief stopped and spoke again. "Alright you got the basic combination down, now we're going to try another technique."

"It's called an uppercut. To do it you first need to step back." Raian backed up a step and turned his attention back to the Chief. "First you need to drop your power hand and turn your fist where the back is facing the ground and you hold don't at your waist. Then you step forward and launch your fist up in an arc. Ready?"

"Yes sir!" answered Raian before getting into his stance. The Chief lifted his left mitt and faced it downward. Raian stepped forward and launched his left fist upward. An arc soared through the air and prepared to land… only to miss the mitt completely.

Everyone in the gym was watching but the Chief, Miyata, and Takamura's eyes all widened at the sight.

Raian pulled back his fist before saying, "Dammit I missed, can we try again?"

The Chief was still in shock but quickly regained himself before answering, "Uh no no, let's end there for now." The Coach removed his mitts and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Raian. "That's a map of your roadwork. I want you run that entire course and don't come back until you do."

"Alright, I'll get right to it." Raian removed his gloves and walked out the door to begin his roadwork.

Kamogawa stayed behind and his gaze lingered on the door before being approached by Yagi, "Well he seems to be doing pretty well. But don't go too hard on him Chief, I'm sure he'll get that punch down soon."

Without looking at Yagi, the Chief answered, "You didn't notice it did you?" Yagi seemed confused. "The kid's uppercut may not have landed, but he executed it perfectly. Both his hands, body, and legs were in the perfect position."

* * *

Raian's training quickly went underway. During the day he would go to school and do all his schoolwork. Then came the afternoon, which obviously came with the arrival of Umezawa and his gang of punks. As per the Chief's orders, Raian only avoided and ran from his bullies, of course he didn't like running away he had to agree with the Coach saying he had better things to do.

For a month Raian trained relentlessly, doing push-ups, sit-ups, and running.

He was made to run alongside the Chief on his scooter and jump rope afterwards.

Running up and down hills. Doing sit-ups while the Chief repeatedly dropped a medicine ball in his abdomen. And made to pull two giant tires tied around his waist.

Mitt punching. Mitt punching. Mitt punching. And MORE mitt punching.

During one of his sessions, Kamogawa noticed Raian's feet kept going out of place every time he threw a punch.

"Alright stop. Stop." Said Kamogawa.

Raian stopped punching and looked at the Chief, confused. "What's going on, I was doing pretty good."

"'Good'?" said Kamogawa, "You wanna know what's 'good'? That footwork!" He pointed towards Raian's feet. "You're completely off balance. You get into the ring with that kind of balance and you're going to get knocked on your ass in the first five seconds."

Raian followed Kamogawa over and the Chief turned to him, "Have you ever heard of a boxer named Marciano?"

"Marciano?" said Raian. "Yeah Rocky Marciano. The Brockton Blockbuster."

"That's right. Marciano was the only Heavyweight boxer who ever finished his career undefeated. 49 fights, 49 wins, with 43 knockouts, and never once did he lose." Explained Kamogawa.

Raian wondered where the Coach was going with this but continued listening. "And just like you, he had terrible balance. But he found a way to fix it." The Coach reached into his pocket and pulled out some string. "He tied string around his ankles to keep his legs in place and gained better balance." The Chief then said, "Now we're going to do the same thing."

Raian got a bit skeptical at the whole idea, but then again, the Coach hasn't been wrong. Kamogawa tied the string around Raian's ankles. Raian tested the tension and thought, 'I don't know what's worse: The fact I can't move much anymore? Or if my punches will still sink in?'

Kamogawa put the punching mitts back on and turned to Raian, "Alright let's go. Gimme one-two."

Raian raised his gloves and threw out a jab and began to follow up with a left straight but his leg was held back by the strong and he tripped forward. He fell flat on the floor, earning a chorus of laughs from Takamura, Kimura, and Aoki who were watching the whole thing. Raian glared at them before picking himself up.

"Oh, come on. You can't honestly thing this string is gonna help get better balance, do you? I don't wanna have to keep falling down every time I go to throw a punch." Complained Raian.

"What are you idiots doing just standing around!? Get back to your own training!" yelled the Coach before turning back to Raian. "And you should quit complaining. You wanna beat Miyata? Well you're not gonna be able to even land a feint on him with that kind of balance! You get control of your center, and his counterpunches won't even be able shake you."

Kamogawa resumed his stance and said, "Now again. One-two."

Raian thought on his words and glanced towards Miyata, who was working on his shadowboxing before turning back to the Chief. Silently, he got back into his stance and followed through with his training.

* * *

Training continued for the next two months. Raian's training had been steadily growing tougher and tougher but never once did he complain.

He practiced his shadowboxing. Keeping the string tied around his ankles.

He pulled the massive tires, slowly but surely it was getting easier and could pull them better each time.

Runing with the Chief had also gotten better. Sun, wind, or rain, Raian ran. He ran so fast and far each time he passed the Chief on his scooter more than once. Even his bullies who chased him on a regular basis couldn't even keep up with him anymore.

Core training was brutal. Crossing his arms and stranding on his legs and head, he held the Chief sitting on his abdomen. Keeping his balance the whole time.

Later the Coach had him work on the medicine ball and sit-ups again. Slamming the heavy ball on his abdomen as Raian continued to do sit-ups. Never complaining even once.

"In an in-fight you can't throw out big punches like normal. You need to get inside and throw short, tight swings aimed at the ribs and lower body." Explained Kamogawa.

"Short, tight, and fast! Remember that." He said. Raian answered, "Yes sir!"

Running. Push-ups. Sit-ups. Jump rope. Squats. Tire pulling. All while keeping a balanced diet. For three months Raian kept up his brutal training regiment with diligence.

Raian was on the heavy bag. The string tied around his ankles, but he kept his feet in place. He had achieved balance.

He let out exhale as he threw one big left cross at the heavy bag. The sound ringing throughout the ring.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The Kamogawa Boxing Gym was bustling with business as usual.

Gym members were doing their normal training. One was jumping rope. Another was shadowboxing. One was on the speed bag and two more were sparring in the ring while another was currently on the heavy bag.

Mr. Yagi was sweeping the floor as he merrily hummed to himself before he heard the gym's front door sliding open. He turned to see a man with a short beard, messy dark-brown hair and a brown suit while smoking a cigarette.

"Well this is a surprise." Greeted Yagi, "You haven't been here in a while Fuji."

Mr. Fuji pulled out his cigarette as he let out a puff of smoke before responding, "Hey Mr. Yagi, yeah I thought I would stop by and see what's been going on."

"Hey isn't the world champion supposed to be having a press conference today?" asked Yagi.

"Yeah but I sent my assistant instead." responded Yagi, "I have deadlines to meet and I don't like to waste my time."

He took another drag of his cigarette before giving a passing glance around the gym. "As for what I'm doing here, I'm working on a column regarding the hot, young prospects in various gyms. I'm sorry to barge in like this but could I possibly get a word from Miyata?"

"Well today is not exactly-" Yagi was cut off as Kimura spoke up, "An interview with Miyata is more important than the world title match?"

"Following the beat of your own drummer as usual" commented Aoki.

Fuji gave an amused hmph before shrugging his shoulders, "Go ahead, call me crazy but I just want to do an interview with a young boxer with great potential."

"Instead of spending all your time on Miyata, you should cover me once in a while." said Aoki as he smugly pointed his thumb at himself.

"What for?" cut in Takamura, "why would he want to cover a ham and egger?"

Aoki turned to Takamura before angrily saying, "What did you say?!"

Takamura responded by grabbing Aoki's head and squeezing it before asking, "You don't like what I said?" and Aoki quickly reversed himself and played it off as nothing.

Everyone noticed Takamura wearing a pale blue shirt with a bowtie and Fuji spoke up, "Hey Takamura, why are you wearing that ridiculous get up?"

"You got a sharp nose Fuji." said Takamura, "You see the sparring match everyone's been talkin' about as happening downstairs and I'm the referee. So, I need to look official." He explained while placing his hands on his hips and holding his head up proudly.

"Oh yeah, who's fighting?" asked Fuji.

"Miyata, the one you were just talking about." answered Takamura.

Mr. Yagi face-palmed that he had revealed the match but was turned to by Fuji, "Mr. Yagi could I sit in on this. I'll take some really good pictures."

Yagi turned to Fuji with a worried expression, "Well it is only a practice match between two new faces. So, I didn't really want any outsiders to see it."

Fuji held his hand up to his chin in a pensive gesture while responding, "Huh, so you're saying you've got another new face who can compete with Miyata. That means you got a showdown between two golden eggs."

"Yeah that about sums it up." said Takamura. This earned a confused response from Aoki and Kimura. Takamura looked at them and asked if they thought otherwise.

"Well," started Kimura, "Raian has certainly been doing his best but…" he trailed off and Aoki finished answering. "Well it's fair enough to call Miyata a golden egg. But I wouldn't match him up with Raian. After all, he still has that brawler mentality."

Takamura answered, "Yeah you're right that Raian still has a long way to go but there's a difference between boxing and fighting, so only the one who wants it more is gonna win." Takamura rested his chin in his hand, thinking, before saying, "I'm going to officiate this match with great care." He looked up with an excited smile and said, "I have no doubt that this is going to be a very interesting match."

Fuji put on a puzzled expression at this comment. Wondering what could be in store for this sparring match.

* * *

Raian was currently sitting on a bench while wrapping his hands. He glances up from his hand and sees Miyata conversing with his father, most likely getting into his focus. Raian's eyes narrow as he looks back at his wraps in determination, 'This is it… It's finally here…' he thought.

"Miyata" calls out Takamura as he walks into the room, "are you ready?"

"I'm ready we're just waiting for you."

Raian responds, "Yeah I'm coming just hang on."

Raian finishes getting ready and gets up and begins to stretch while his demeanor is as calm as ever.

Fuji stands next to Kimura and is observing Raian before turning to Kimura and says, "So that's Kamogawa Gym's secret weapon? If you ask me, he just looks like a punk."

Kimura lets out a laugh of agreement, "I couldn't agree with ya more, but he isn't the same kid when he first came in. He's been training really hard and never once did he slack off."

'It doesn't matter I'm only here for Miyata' thought Fuji while looking back at the baxer in question.

Raian gets into the ring and walks to his corner, his back is turned as he has both hands on the ropes as he's deep in thought. 'This is it. All that training has amounted to this moment. Time to see all that hard work pay off.' Raian chuckles silently while adding, 'And to get payback for three months ago.'

Takamura calls out and explains the rules. It will be a four-round match with three knockdowns. The same as their first bout. Everyone in the gym was in the room and was watching intently as the two fighters sized each other up in the center of the ring.

They walk back to their corners and Kamogawa walks up to Raian and begins to give him instructions on what to do. Raian listens carefully and Takamura signals for the cornermen to leave the ring.

The bell rings and Raian dashes out of his corner, surprising everyone watching. He launches some right jabs and one-twos at Miyata, who evades them all but now knows to not underestimate Raian.

Miyata backs off and gains some distance, but Raian resumes his chase. Miyata uses his slick footwork to get passed and slip by his opponent. 'Damn. I thought I caught him perfectly in shadowboxing. But the real thing is something else.'

Ecveryone watching was amazed at Miyata's footwork, but Fuji realized that since Miyata didn't normally do this, then he was being force into doing it. Miyata dodges another left straight.

'Don't push your luck' he thought as he prepared his right and threw it out. Raian saw his attck coming and remembers the mitt punching the coach. He slips and weaves to the left before countering with a left and right hook, knocking Miyata to the canvas.

Everyone was shocked to see Miyata get KD'd in such a way. Takamura called for Raian get into his neutral corner before beginning the count. Miyata laid their shocked at what just happened but after hearing the count of 8, he got back up and gave the ok to continue fighting.

"Kid don't let have any room to get away. Chase after him. Just keep swinging." Shouted the Coach.

"Yes sir!" said Raian as he darted after Miyata. He through out a left straight but Miyata slipped to the left and readied his right. 'I'm not falling for that again.' Miyata placed his left foot outside Raian's right and countered with a right straight.

Raian was sent plummeting backwards as his whole body hit the canvas. Everyone was shocked to see him take the same monster counterpunch that earned him his loss the first bout. But everyone was surprised again as Raian not only sat up but shot back up onto his feet as if nothing had happened. Takamura didn't even start the count before Raian told him he could continue.

Fuji, Aoki, and Kimura were stunned to see this development. "This is unbelievable. Raian took that same counterpunch three months ago and he couldn't get up before. Now he got up before the count even started." said Aoki.

"The kid's built like a punching bag. He just absorbs every hit." said Kimura.

"I guess that's one of the advantages of being a brawler. Even if they're not as fast as an out-boxer or coordinated as a counterpuncher, it won't matter if their punches don't even make them flinch." said Fuji.

Raian continued stepping in, lauching right straight after right straight as he tried to get inside. He threw out a left cross, but Miyata evaded it. He went for a right counter but when everyone thought it landed, they were shocked to see Raian return with a left cross counter.

Miyata was sent plummeting to the canvas. Takamura ordered Raian to go to a neutral corner and began the count.

Miyata's father was shocked to see his son being countered and noticed the way Raian moved. Fuji explained that Raian stepped forward to cut the power of Miyata's punch, allowing him to counter with his own.

Miyata managed to get back up before the count of 10 and the fight resumed. Raian once more stepped in to get another hit. He ducked under a left hook by Miyata as he bent his knees and lowered his left hand before lifting to deliver an uppercut.

Barely missing the punch, Miyata countered with an overhead left counter that nailed Raian square in the face and sent him crashing down.

Raian was laying flat on the canvas as Miyata shouted, "How do you like that!" as he struck a pose.

Just as he got to his corner Miyata and everyone else was shocked to see Raian starting to pick himself up. He was on his hands and knees but managed to get his left foot under him as he stood up and tried to balance himself.

Takamura stood before him and examined if he could continue fighting. Raian raised his guard and confirmed that he could. But in that moment the bell rang.

Both fighters returned to their corners. Both getting treated for their injuries before the bell rang once more.

Miyata and Raian dashed forward and both launched their own punches. In terms of sheer strength, it was clear Raian was stronger as he managed to get Miyata against the ropes and began to strike blow after blow to Miyata's midsection.

Miyata managed to get out and flipped them around as Raian raised his guard. Miyata pummeled him before Raian countered with a left hook that was blocked and once more the two got into a slugging match.

Just then the bell rang and signaled the end of the second round.

Miyata walked back to his corner as his father splashed water on him. "That boy's body blows have substance."

"Yeah I know, I felt like I was gonna lose my lunch if I took anymore."

"In that case in the third round just focus on recovering try to slow him down. Just focus on getting your breathing under control."

The bell rang and the third round went quickly underway. Raian dashed forward again but was stopped short as Miyata got him in a clinch.

Everyone was surprised by this, as they knew for a fact that Miyata never resorted to clinching. Raian tried to break out but his arms were pushed up against his chest.

The clinch was only broken up by Takamura who told them to step back before they moved forward and again Miyata caught Raian in a clinch.

The hold was broken up again and the bell for the end of the third round rang. Raian walked back to his corner and Kamogawa gave him some water to rinse his mouth. "That Miyata is a clever one."

"Yeah. What was up with those clinches I didn't think he would use something like that."

Kamogawa told Raian to look at Miyata and Raian looked closer before realized, "Ya get it now?" asked Kamogawa, "Before he was breathing from the shoulders but now, he's back to normal."

Raian understood but was told to not let it dissuade him before the bell for the fourth and final round went off.

Both fighters put up their guards. Miyata dashed forward and began to use dart and dash attcks to steadly wear Raian down. Raian was still breathing heavily as he could barely get around. Everyone knew it was the accumulated damage from the whole fight and Miyata was in his stance getting ready to fight again.

Miyata used body blows to push Raian against the ropes and as Raian began to buckle from the damage, Miyata raised his right to deliver the KO. But just as the punch inched towards him, Raian surprised everyone by going for a counter.

Miyata saw Raian's left so he moved his head right, only to be surprised at an uppercut coming.

Raian's left uppercut shot through the air, Miyata stepping back and everyone thinking he had dodged.

Only for him to fall back on his behind which stunned everyone.

People were flabbergasted as Takamura called it a down. Miyata's father called out to his son. 'That was a pretty stupid down. An uppercut without motion huh? I never would have seen that coming.' thought Miyata.

Takamura continued the count and Miyata assured him he would get up but was confused at his legs not responding. Everyone was confused as Miyata once again tried to get up and balance himself but fell back down.

Just as Takamura reached the final count, Miyata shouted for him to stop but everyone was stunned to see Miyata fail to get up as Takamura counted to 10.

Everyone in the gym, was speechless.

Raian was the most stunned by it all. He could not believe that he had won. Everyone surrounded Raian to congratulate and ask how he did it. But Raian glanced back to see Miyata preparing to walk out the door.

Raian called out and walked up to the pair before saying, "It was a good match… You fought well…" Raian raised his left hand.

Miyata looked back before giving him a smile of gratitude and raised his right hand. Raian noticed and quickly pulled back his left hand and raised his right.

The pair exchanging a handshake of mutual respect for a fight well fought and for the start of a mutual rivalry.


End file.
